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Many students start class having no idea what Judo etiquette is. The art of Judo is very structured and has a specific way of doing things. There are a great deal of things you can do which will offend not only other students, but may annoy your instructor as well.

To display proper Judo etiquette when entering the dojo, a student should bow to display a respect of the art itself. When addressing the instructor (sensei), the student should bow.

When the class begins, displaying Judo etiquette, the head student (sempai) will call the class to attention (kyosuke). Then they will call for the class to bow to the front (shomen ni rei). Finally, they will call for the class to bow to the teacher (sensei ni rei).

When drilling throws or other moves, to display proper Judo etiquette, the torii and uke should bow to one another. When demonstrating a throw to the entire class, torii and uke should bow first to sensei, then to each other. Once the demonstration is finished, they should bow to each other, then to sensei.

There is very specific Judo etiquette which must be observed when performing the Katas. The Nage no Kata in particular begins with a ritual which involves stepping together in unison toward the center, and bowing to Joseki (place of high honor – where sensei is located). Then torii and uke kneel and bow to one another. Then they stand in unison and begin.

Just as with any of the other martial arts, students should show proper respect by bowing and obeying higher belt ranks. Proper respect should be shown of same and lower belt ranks as these are your training partners. Of course it should go without saying that this is especially true when addressing sensei. If any other art is taught at the school, the student should respect all students of those arts as well.

Judo etiquette can be intimidating when a student first arrives at a school, but if you follow these tips, you shouldn’t offend anyone at your new dojo.

Judo terminology can be confusing for some. The Japanese language features words that express ideals more than specific things like English does. It is for this reason that many of my students have a hard time memorizing the names for moves and vocabulary items in both Japanese and English.

The first bit of Judo terminology that I teach is the word Judo itself. It comes from two ideals in Japanese. The first is ‘ju’ which means gentle or softness. The second is ‘do’ which means way or path. This varies from Jiu-Jutsu in that ‘jiu’ still means gentle or softness, but ‘jutsu’ means art. Jiu-Jutsu is therefor a collection of moves comprising an art, and Judo is a way of living through the art.

Another part of Judo terminology that confuses students is the three parts of a throw. Those parts are kuzushi, tsukuri, and kake. Kuzushi means to take balance (of your opponent). That is to move the opponent in such a way that they are unstable. Tsukuri means to enter (your opponent’s space). Once balance is taken, you must replace it with your balance to control the throw. Kake means to complete the action. Completing the action entails either throwing or sweeping the opponent. Breaking each action down into three parts makes it easier for students to grasp the concept and effectively learn the technique.

The next Judo terminology that I teach is Uke and Torii. The Uki is the person receiving the action (being thrown, choked, etc.). The Torii is the person doing the action. When your instructor asks for uke, they are in effect asking for a demonstration partner to throw.

The Judo term Kata can be really confusing. It means both a demonstration like the Nage no Kata and also shoulder as in Kata Guruma (shoulder wheel). Used alone, it’s usually referring to the demonstration, however.

You can find individual throw names and translations on the Judo page.

Judo is a relatively new martial art. Judo history begins with Kano Jigoro, who developed Judo in 1882 as a means to be able to practice the Japanese battlefield art of JuJutsu. Kano was a small boy who was bullied by his classmates and desperately wanted to learn this ancient art to defend himself. Nakai Baisei, a family friend who was a member of the shogun’s guard, recommended Kano learn JuJutsu, and taught him a few moves. Kano’s father discouraged him from learning JuJutsu and pushed him toward other mainstream sports.

Once Kano went to Tokyo Imperial University, he began his search for Jujutsu teachers. He started by looking for bonesetters. One of them referred him to Fukuda Hachinosuke, a teacher of the Tenjin Shin’yo-ryu style. Fukuda insisted on teaching students a technique then having them ‘randori’ or live spar to master the technique. Kano had difficulty with one of the better students, however, and began looking elsewhere for techniques to defeat his opponents.

After trying several Sumo techniques which did not work, he applied a wrestling technique known as the ‘fireman’s carry’. Judo history was made when the first throw was born, Kata Guruma (shoulder wheel – now banned in competition).

After Fukuda’s death in 1881, Kano trained and taught briefly under one of Fukuda’s students, Iso. Fukuda’s wife gave Kano her husband’s scrolls, and he observed that training harder did not give him the edge to defeat stronger opponents. Kano turned his focus to training smarter, and began to learn techniques from all of the JuJutsu schools he could find.

Iso passed later in 1881, and Kano began learning from Iikubo. It was Iikubo who gave Kano his teaching certificate in JuJutsu in 1883 after Kano began beating Iikubo in randori.

Kano named the system he developed from the JuJutsu he learned Judo taken from the characters ju, meaning gentle or pliable, and do, meaning way or method.

In 1882, Kano founded the Kodokan Institute, a dojo dedicated to teaching Judo to its students. At the time it was founded, he had about a dozen students. By 1911, he had about a thousand dan-graded (black belt equivalent) members.

Kano had a deep interest in bringing Judo to the Olympics, and performed an informal demonstration at the 1932 Olympic Games. Judo finally became an Olympic sport for men in the 1964 Games in Tokyo. The Olympic Committee initially dropped judo for the 1968 Olympics, meeting protests.

Dutchman Anton Geesink won the first Olympic gold medal in the open division of judo by defeating Akio Kaminaga of Japan. The women’s event was introduced at the Olympics in 1988 as a demonstration event, and an official medal event in 1992.

Trey Murray Green Belt Promotion in Kyukido

Trey Murray green belt promotion in Kyukido! I took my test and I passed! It was a very physically challenging test despite being a make up test. (We were out of town for Memorial Day weekend.)

First, we stretched out with a higher belt student leading the test class, and then the black belt instructor administering the test had us do cardio warm ups and more stretching.

The Test Begins For Trey Murray

We had to demonstrate stances, kicks and punches as usual, and our forms as well. Then we did some shadow sparring.

We demonstrated some Judo holds and escapes before finally coming to what I consider to be the most fun part of any test, the board breaking.

Since my first test I have been breaking pine boards. This time the instructor said it was too thick for me and I was confused. Then he brings out a board about 1/3 of the thickness and told me I would be doing a speed break. He explained that he would throw the board straight up in the air and I was to break it on the way down.

As he threw the board into the air in front of me, I watched it go up until it reached the apex of the throw. As I tracked it on the way down, I measured the speed and launched a reverse punch and stepped into the punch as well.

Trey Murray Green Belt Success!

The next thing I saw was two pieces of board flying toward the front of the mat. I was so excited! I had kicked boards before with someone holding the board and bracing it against the force of my kicks, but this was a free falling board with no support, and I broke it on the first attempt.

All in all it was a great test. After a short ribbing from the instructor, only fair as I helped tag the New York Yankees fan’s car only a couple of months earlier with Texas Rangers grafitti, he awarded me the green belt and told me he was proud of my weight loss.

He gave me a shorter belt and told me to “shrink into it”. Great motivation as always from such a wonderful school AKF Martial Arts is. I can’t wait for all I will learn for the next test.